This Kale Salad is a really simple and tasty side dish. Made with tons of kale and a homemade lemon dressing, it is fresh, vibrant, and packed with flavor.
Can't get enough of salads? Try my Cobb Salad or Broccoli Salad next!
About This Recipe
Last year, I promised there would be more salads on Feed Grump, so today, I'm sharing my kale salad recipe! If you've never had kale salad before, it's one of the tastiest and most nutritious salads you can eat.
Kale is a SUPER food. It's packed with vitamins, fiber, and more. This might be too much info, but my wife loves kale because it helps her with her digestion. She always requests it when I ask her what veggies she wants me to buy for the week.
The best part of this salad is the homemade lemon dressing. Kale is more bitter than other leafy vegetables, so a bright, tangy dressing is a must to help balance it. I love using two types of acid: freshly squeezed lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Lemon juice provides freshness, but red wine vinegar has a sharp acidity that cuts through all the bitterness.
Key Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil: Most French chefs recommend a 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar when making a salad dressing, but I actually do a 1:1 ratio for this recipe. Less oil is better. The reason is that Kale has a lot of grooves, so if you add lots of oil, the salad will get very oily.
Lemon juice + red wine vinegar: As I said earlier, I like to use two acids here for the best flavor.
Dijon mustard: Dijon mustard plays an extremely important role in salad dressings. It is an emulsifier, so it keeps the oil and vinegar combined. If you don't add Dijon mustard, your dressing will separate after you whisk it.
Kale: I used 1 extremely large bunch of kale. You can also use two smaller bunches.
Parmesan: Use the real kind.
Dried cranberries: Fun fact: I keep my dried cranberries in my freezer so they don't go bad.
Pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds: These two seeds are my favorite, but you can use any type of seed as long as it has a nice crunch.
Almonds: I used raw, sliced almonds. Feel free to use whole almonds and chop them yourself.
Red onion: I love the taste of onions in this salad. My wife prefers no onions, so I soaked them in cold water for 15 minutes to remove some of their pungent taste.
Instructions
STEP 1: Combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk until combined.
STEP 2: Add all the salad components (except the dressing) to a large bowl.
STEP 3: Drizzle about half of the dressing and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing as needed to suit your own taste. Enjoy!
P.S. One of my favorite parts of this salad is that you can make it ahead of time, and it won't get soggy. That's because kale does not have as much moisture as other leafy greens, like lettuce or spinach. With other vegetables, the dressing will pull out the moisture from them and make them soft and wilted. But this doesn't happen with kale!
๐ Recipe
Kale Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing
- ยผ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1-2 teaspoons honey (to taste)
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- ยผ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the salad
- 2 bunches kale (chopped)
- ยฝ cup grated parmesan cheese
- โ cup sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds)
- โ cup sliced almonds
- โ cup dried cranberries
- 2-4 tablespoons red onion (finely diced; to taste)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all the salad dressing ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Add all the salad ingredients (except the dressing) to a large bowl.
- Add half the salad dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing as needed to suit your own tastes. Enjoy! The salad will keep well for 3 days in the refrigerator.
Sara Grunwaldt
Wonderful taste and simple to make! Highly recommend trying.
Grump
Thanks, Sara!